Kissa Hotaka, Ochanomizu: A 70-Year-Old Mountain-Lodge Coffee House and Its Owner’s Edo Heritage | Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks #7

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Kissa Hotaka, a mountain-lodge-style coffee house right in front of Ochanomizu Station, is 70 years old. The kissaten (a traditional Japanese coffee house) his mother started in a corner of a tailor’s shop is now kept by Yoshio Awano, over 80, together with his wife and eldest daughter. Mr. Awano is a descendant of a retainer of the Date clan of Sendai, whose men dug the Sendai Moat at Ochanomizu. Photographer ELLI listened to him talk about coffee and about the Edo-period history that continues just outside the door. (Hon no Machi, December 2025 issue, “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” #7)

Yoshio Awano, owner of Kissa Hotaka — Owner Yoshio Awano (photos: Eri Ito)

When you visit Ochanomizu, why not start with a good cup of coffee at Hotaka, then enjoy a stroll through Edo history?

For her seventh visit, photographer ELLI — who “had little connection with the Jimbocho area” — went to Kissa Hotaka, directly across from Ochanomizu Station, and spoke with the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Awano.

Edo Castle history that lives on in Ochanomizu

The shop: a coffee house that began in a corner of a tailor’s

Exterior of Kissa Hotaka — The entrance of the mountain-lodge-style Kissa Hotaka

Just steps from Ochanomizu Station stands Hotaka, an old-fashioned coffee house built like a mountain lodge. It is 70 years old. Before the war the building housed Yamaya Tailor, founded by the owner’s father and known as the finest tailor in Kanda. In 1955 the owner’s mother, Katsu, opened a coffee corner inside the tailor’s shop. She loved the mountains, was sociable and full of energy — she even ran ski tours that left by bus from in front of the shop.

Interior of Kissa Hotaka — The mountain-lodge interior

Signature menu: marmalade toast and a five-bean blend

Toast and coffee at Kissa Hotaka — Toast served with marmalade and butter, and a delicious coffee made from the house’s own blend of five kinds of beans

The owner: a descendant of a Date clan retainer

After the early death of his older brother, Yoshio Awano quit his office job and began working at his mother’s shop. Now past 80, he still runs it with his wife Noriyo and their eldest daughter Natsuko.

Yoshio Awano and Noriyo Awano — The talkative, cheerful owner and his wife Noriyo, who has supported him quietly behind the scenes

Mr. Awano is a descendant of a retainer of the Date clan of Sendai, who dug Ochanomizu’s Sendai Moat (today’s Kanda River).

Ota-hime Inari Shrine, founded by Ota Dokan in the Muromachi period, was moved to a spot above the Sendai Moat to guard the unlucky northeast direction of Edo Castle, and was moved again to its present site (near the Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance head office) during construction of the Sobu Line in the Taisho era. Mr. Awano carries on that history: in 2006 he dedicated a family heirloom sword to the shrine, and two years later he took part, together with Tsunenari Tokugawa, the 18th head of the Tokugawa family, in a grand procession of 150 people in Edo-period costume to the site of the former residence of Oguri Kozukenosuke Tadamasa.

A walk nearby: Hijiri-bashi Bridge and a giant muku tree

The area around Ochanomizu Station, home to Hotaka, has been a place of culture and learning since the Edo period, beginning with Yushima Seido. From Hijiri-bashi Bridge you can look down on the JR Chuo and Sobu lines, built along Edo Castle’s outer moat, and on the platforms of Ochanomizu Station.

A giant muku tree at the southern end of Hijiri-bashi Bridge — At the southern end of Hijiri-bashi Bridge a giant muku tree still stands as evidence that Ota-hime Shrine was here before the Sobu Line was built

Shop information

▶Shop page (map and related articles)

Kissa Hotaka
Address: 4-5-3 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Phone: 03-3292-9654
Closed: Sundays and national holidays
Founded: 1955
Nearest station: Ochanomizu Station
▶View on Google Maps
*Address, phone and closing days are from the Hon no Machi member shop list (September 2026 issue). Hours and other details may change; please check with the shop before you visit.

Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks: all installments

▶See every installment and a map of the shops ELLI has visited on the series page

◀Previous: #6 Book House Cafe
▶Next: #8 Mamekobo

#1　Luncheon
#2　The Adirondack Café
#3　Hasebe
#4　Toyodaen & Daisen
#5　@Wonder
#6　Book House Cafe
#7　Kissa Hotaka (this article)
#8　Mamekobo
#9　Banuken
#10　Asanoya
#11　Yamagataya Paper Shop
#12　Kissa Poupée
#13　Ochanomizu Hotel Shoryukan
#14　Kanda Awahei
#15　Daiki Shoe Store
#16　Sakaiya Sports
#17　Fuji Record Sha

Eri Ito (ELLI)
Photographer. In Hon no Machi she writes the series “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks,” visiting a shop in Kanda, Ochanomizu or Jimbocho every month.

This article introduces installment 7 of “Photographer ELLI’s Town Walks” (photos and text by Eri Ito), published in the December 2025 issue (Vol. 8) of Hon no Machi, the community salon magazine of Kanda, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho.

▶Read the December 2025 issue of Hon no Machi (PDF, in Japanese)

Founded in 1980, Hon no Machi brings you the latest from Book Town every month, together with Jimbocho’s bookstores, publishers, cafés and galleries.

▶Back issues of our series are being published on our note page (in Japanese)

日本語で読む — Read this article in Japanese